The colour of love
by Islamgirl
Summary: Jason left Trini to become the gold ranger and broke a promise to her. 6 years later she returns to Angel Grove and tries to get things back to normal...but with the broken trust...will it ever be normal? Jason and Trini fight for what could have been.
1. Chapter 1

"I'll be back, I promise."

Trini Kwan stared up at Jason Lee Scott, her dark almond shaped eyes boring into the very centre of his soul. "Why Jason?"

"You know I can't answer that." He replied softly. "But I promise you that I'll be back." He took her into his arms and pulled her close to him, trying to memorize her smell and the feeling of her body in his arms.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep." She whispered, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.

"I haven't yet." He closed his eyes and fought the urge to cry. With one last chaste kiss he pulled apart. "I love you Trini."

She watched his form disappear into the night. It was the first, and last promise he broke to her.

--

Six years later...

"And this is Angle Grove." Dr. Trini Kwan said pulling into the city.

"Your old stomping ground." Her best friend and colleague Dr. Ahmereen Saleem said with a grin.

Trini sighed. "Sure is. I haven't been back since the summer of first year...and even then I came home to pick up some stuff and went back to Boston for the rest of the summer doing an internship."

"Sure is warmer than Boston." Amy commented rolling down her window. "I can't believe it's October here. It was 40 in Boston...its 80 here! I think I can handle doing my last year of residency here."

The two girls had met at Harvard their first year and quickly became best friends and eventually roommates. It helped that both of them were pre-med students focussing on emergency medicine. They pulled up to Trini's parent's palace, using it as a home base until they found their own apartment.

"TRINI!" Twins Tin and Trang burst out of the house and fought to get to their older sister first. The 17-year-old tiwns grinned and wrapped their older sister in a rib breaking hug.

"Boy you two have changed since last Christmas." Trini exclaimed kissing her sister Trang on the cheek and giving Tin, he brother a tight one armed hug. "You guys remember Amy, right?"

Trang gave Amy a hug. "'Course I remember Amy." She smiled up at the young woman who was leaning against the car. "I still have the scarf you brought me from Egypt."

"I have a few new ones from my mother if you want to take a look and see which one you like the best." Amy said returning the teen's hug.

"Oh great. Two more women in the house. Way to throw off the gender balance." Tin complained.

"Though it is nice to you see you." Weilei Kwan said smiling from the front porch, his arm draped around his wife's Mai's shoulder. "And you too Ahmereen."

A grin crossed both of their faces. "How about instead of standing around the car, we move this reunion into the house?" Weilei suggested opening his arms to his eldest daughter. "I want to hear about ALL of your adventures."

Trini rolled her eyes. "Daddy, we're in medical school. The adventures we have are discussing random things we find it people's orifices." Trini said exchanging a knowing smile with Amy who merely rolled her eyes.

"I never want to talk about the kid with the firecracker shoved up his –" Amy started wrinkling her nose.

"Okay...tell Daddy about that when I'm gone." Trang exclaimed covering her ears.

They followed Mai and Weilei into the house, dropping their bags and shoes at the door.

"Tea?"

The girls nodded "I'll come and help you Mai." Amy offered leaving Trini alone in the foyer. Pictures of the family and their achievements covered the walls. Looking through, two specific pictures caught her eye. One was of Trini when she was 16. She and her then best friend Kimberly Hart were lying across the laps of Billy Cranston, Tommy Oliver, Zack Taylor and Jason Scott. The other was taken a year later in Geneva. Zack on one side wearing a black suit and matching black tie, Jason on the other side wearing a black suit and red tie with Trini in the middle wearing a yellow strapless dress. Trini ran her finger over the picture, remembering the time she had spent with her friends.

"Tea?"

Trini jumped back, spinning quickly to face Amy who was holding to mugs of steaming tea.

"It's jasmine."

"Thanks." Taking the mug, Trini sat down and looked around. "It's almost surreal being back here."

"I wouldn't know." Amy said with a slight bitterness in her voice.

Mai sat down. "I'm happy you're back. And you're here with us Amy. I ran into Zachery at the grocery store the other day...everyone wants to see you."

Amy gave a soft smile. "I think I'm going to go outside and thaw...." She patted Mai on the arm and left mother and daughter alone.

"I also ran into Jason."

Trini nodded. "Oh." She ran her finger across the picture before putting it down. "Mama, I'm twenty four now, I'm a doctor. I'm over a breakup that happened in high school."

Mai shrugged. "I know you are a young woman now danh từ, doesn't mean that you shouldn't be happy." She passed a piece of paper to Trini. "That is Jason and Zack's home number, they're roommates."

The seven numbers jumped out at her. "I can't....we just got in...I have to give Amy some time to adjust." Trini started.

"DON'T USE ME AS AN EXCUSE TRINI KWAN!" Amy yelled from the front entrance. She poked her head around the corner. "I heard that."

Mai smiled. "Think about it, that's all I ask."

Trini nodded. "Yes Mama, I will."

"Come on Amy, I'll show you the spare bedroom." Mai said with a knowing smile.

--

Jason Lee Scott laid on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He was still wearing his suit from work, his shoes kicked off at the door. He returned to Angel Grove to help out when the Rangers needed him, only giving the Gold Ranger Powers back when they learned that it was slowly killing him. He didn't want to leave...he had to. Zack came back to Angel Grove. Billy eventually came back. Kim came back. Tommy at least came back to California. But not Trini. Trini stayed in Boston, first going to Harvard and then, for all he knew, getting married and raising a family. He missed her. He hated not knowing what happened to her. Kim was with Tommy and had lost touch with Trini years ago. Even Billy had lost touch with Trini. And it was all his fault. He left without saying goodbye. He left without coming back. He left her, he left them.

She probably hated him. She was better off without him. They would have been better off staying friends....colleagues. Two people who worked together and nothing more. But they were more. He closed his eyes and thought back...

_Flashback_

_16-year-old Trini Kwan took a sip of her smoothie and opened her chemistry book with a sigh. The juice bar was relatively empty for a Friday afternoon, most people finding something better to do than study. She wrote a couple down a couple of multi-component reactions before taking another drink. A pair of dark eyes peered down at her._

"_Jason." _

"_What are you studying?" He pulled the chair up to the table and peered over her shoulder. _

"_Organic chemistry." She made a face before looking back at him. "What're you doing here on a Friday afternoon?"_

"_Looking for you."_

"_Okay...why?" Trini closed her book._

"_Come with me."_

"_Pardon?"_

"_Just come with me. You can put off studying for a few hours." His eyes danced with amusement. _

_The pretty Vietnamese girl mulled over her options before slowly putting her books in her bag. "Okay, only a couple of hours...I have to study."_

_Jason's face broke into an ear to ear grin. "Let's go." He led her out of the juice bar and to Angel Grove Park. They walked in silence until they reached a blanket spread out on the grass._

"_Jason?"_

_He grinned. "Just sit down and eat."_

"_Will I get food poisoning?" Trini eyed the food in the basket. Jason was not known for his culinary skills, and after the flaming grilled cheese incident all of them were wary about eating Jason's food. Except Zack who once ate worms on a dare._

_Blushing, Jason opened the basket. "My mom made it, so it's safe." He pulled out a tray of cupcakes. "Chocolate fudge with white buttercream icing."_

"_My favourite." _

"_I know."_

_Silence fell over them as they quietly ate the food. "Trini, I have a question."_

"_Ask away."_

_The leader of the Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger, Jason Lee Scott, turned about as red as his uniform and the usually eloquent young man began stammering. "A-Are you g-going to the spring dance?"_

_Trini chewed thoughtfully on the cupcake. "I might, no one has asked me."_

"_Wooyoulitogowitme?" Jason mumbled, running his hand across his face._

"_Pardon me?"_

_He cleared his throat. "Trini, would you like to go with me?"_

_Her dark almond eyes peered up at him. "To the spring dance?"_

"_Yeah. I mean, I understand if you don't want to...I probably shouldn't have asked. You're probably planning on going with Richie..." He started to spit out at rapid fire._

_Trini rolled her eyes and gently grabbed Jason's face with both hands and placed a kiss on his lips. When they finally separated, a small smile crossed her lips. "Jason, shut up."_

--

They were inseparable from that point on. Jason sighed and rolled off the bed, changing into a pair of jeans, a red zip up sweater with a black shirt underneath. He was ready to crack open a beer, or if the memories of Trini persisted, a bottle of tequila, when Zack rushed into the kitchen.

"Dude, you'll NEVER guess who's back." Zack threw the groceries on the table and shifted his weight from foot to foot, like he was likely to run away at any second.

"Iunno, who?" Jason mumbled pulling out a jar of peanut butter and not so delicately shoving a spoon in it and plopping it in his mouth. "Rita?"

"No. Even less likely than THAT." Zack frowned and pulled the peanut butter away from Jason. "Dude, between this, pizza and the amount of booze....I'm surprised you don't weight 300 lbs."

"Fast metabolism." Jason grunted with a glare. "Who's back?"

"TRINI!" Zack hopped on the counter and grinned. "I ran into Tin at the grocery store, you know Tin, her annoying little brother? Well he's still her annoying brother, but he's graduating this year so I guess it's not as much little brother, but younger brother. Anyway, we started talking and he said that he had to clean the basement because Trini and her roommate were moving back to California and needed a place to stay...Dude. Dude!" He waved his hand in front of Jason's face.

"She's back?"

Nodding, Zack swung his legs on the counter. "Yep, she's back....I'm gonna go call the rest of the gang."

--

**Author's Note:**

**Asalaam Alaikum. So there it is, the beginning of the story the pain of love. It was originally going to be called ****Al-Hob Al-Haqeeq, which is true love in Arabic...but it got changed to "colour of love." The title may change eventually.**

**Jasmeen**


	2. Chapter 2

"Do it."

"No."

"Do it."

"Amy!"

"What?" She threw her hair over her shoulder and eyed Trini's cell phone with a look that could only be labelled at evil on her face.

"If you don't I will."

"You would not."

She cocked an eyebrow, accepting the challenge. "Try me." An alarm, a quiet chant, went off in the other room. Amy looked at her watch and smiled. "Asr prayer...but I will be back.... and if you aren't dialling by that point...I will be." She grabbed the rolled up prayer rug as well as a white scarf and left the room.

Trini knew that Amy was serious about making the phone call, and while her best friend was a complete sweetheart most of the time...she was also the same person who was known to pump teenager's stomachs when a glass of charcoal would have done the same job. She was smart, probably too smart for her own good and with a dimpled smile she often got her own way. With trembling fingers Trini picked up the phone and started to dial when it rang in her hand. Zachary Taylor.

"H-Hello?" She mumbled into the phone, chiding herself on the way her voice wavered.

"Hello, may I please speak with Trini?" The voice asked politely. The voice hadn't changed in 6 years; she could even imagine him grinning on the other end.

"Speaking." Trini replied out of habit.

"Hey girl." Zack's voice was quiet, like he was purposely keeping it down. "Heard you were back in The Grove."

"Yeah, just got into today actually." Trini leaned against the couch and sighed. "Long drive from Boston."

"I'm sure." Zach rolled his eyes. "Listen, how about we meet up, you know...the old gang. Tommy has a four-day weekend starting Saturday...I'm sure he and Kim would drive up from Reefside. The rest of us have holiday days we can take..."

"Sure, that sounds...good." She looked over at Amy who had just re-entered the room. "My roommate and colleague from Boston is here too."

"Bring her along." Zack replied. "Okay, I've gotta jet...our fire alarm just went off again and I have to make sure that it's nothing serious..."

Despite her nervousness, Trini giggled. "Good idea. Give me a call with the details and we'll be there."

"Sounds good. I miss you Trini."

"I miss you too." Trini said softly before closing her cellphone. "Saturday...Zack is going to plan something."

Amy grinned. "Great. Now...which one is Zack?"

With a sigh Trini pulled the picture off of the mantle...

--

"_You're beautiful."_

_Trini looked up at Jason and blushed. "You're not too bad yourself."_

_It had been over a month since they had started dating. With Tommy losing his power, neither felt that it was the right time to tell the team of their newly formed relationship. It was Trini who broached the subject again._

"_We have to tell them eventually Jason." She said softly, leaning against him. "We hold off any longer and they find out....they're likely to kill us. Plus I think Zack is getting suspicious."_

_Jason nodded. "He told me that I smelled 'like girl' when we were sparring the other day." He laughed. "I told him that Mom must have gotten my laundry mixed in with my sister's. Zack would not have been the first person I would have thought that would catch on to us. He's kind of..."_

"_Oblivious?" Trini offered._

"_I was going to say clueless....but that works too. Do you think they'll be upset?"_

_Trini shrugged. "I don't know why they would be. It's our lives and they should want to see up happy..."_

_--_

Amy watched with a thoughtful expression as Trini gazed at the picture. The best friend. The genius. The jokester. The new guy. And the other one. She didn't talk much about the one in red, briefly skimming over him – so quickly Amy barely caught his name. Jason Scott. The others she had stories about. Their likes, their dislikes, their hobbies, but not with the boy in red. There was a story she knew, but she didn't bother to ask. At least not yet.

--

Saturday came too soon for Trini. She woke up with a knot in her stomach that grew as the day progressed. Three outfits and many hairstyles later they were finally on their way. Angel Grove park hadn't really changed all that much in six years. The bag that held some food grew heavy in her hand, her footsteps slower. She saw them. Zack, his hair cropped close wearing khakis and a black polo shirt. Billy, his hair a bit longer and blonder than before. Gone were the overalls and sneakers replaced by jeans and loafers. Tommy, his hair was short now and spiked, Kim her hair pulled back in a brain wearing a bright pink shirt with jeans. Her heart stopped when she saw Jason. He had filled out over the years, not fat but no longer the teenage boy he once was. His hair was cut shorter, but he was still Jason.

"Tri, you okay?"

"Fine." She replied too quickly.

Amy adjusted her hijab. "What's the holdup then?" They had stopped moving and were staring at the group.

Before Trini could reply, Zack turned around and saw them. His face split into an ear to ear grin and he started sprinting towards them. Trini braced herself and was quickly lifted off her feet and spun around wildly. By the time he had set her down the others had joined them. Hugs and squeals were shared with Jason hanging in the back of the group. He gave her a soft smile and a half wave that she returned. The other four exchanged worried looks before Kim cleared her throat. She extended her hand to Amy.

"Hi, I'm Kimberly Hart."

"Ahmereen Saleem, but you can call me Amy." She said with a smile.

"Tommy Oliver."

"Billy Cranston."

"Zack Taylor."

"Jason Scott."

Amy examined Jason with curiosity. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and finally she looked away turning her smile to Zack.

"Thank you so much for inviting me along." She said grabbing the bags that Trini had placed on the ground before Zack's attack.

He grinned. "Any friend of Trini's is a friend of ours." Taking the bags from her he led them to the blanket on the grass with Kim, Tommy and Billy on their heels. "What did you guys bring?"

"Couple of different salads. One is a couscous and lentil salad from my country, the other is a potato salad." She strained to hear the conversation, or lack thereof, from Jason and Trini behind her.

"Your country?" Billy asked with interest. "May I inquire to which that would be. I am assuming somewhere in the Middle East from your colouring and obvious religious coverings."

Amy nodded and tucked a stray piece of hair back under the covering. "We have moved places, but I call Gaza City my home city, though I lived in Tehran for many years."

"That is so interesting, I would love to discuss the social differences of middle eastern society compared to that of the secular western world." Billy said with a smile on his face.

"Great, the geek grin is back." Zack said with an eye roll. He turned to Tommy and Kim who had started laying everything out on the blankets. "We brought tons of food, enough to feed an army."

Glancing over her shoulder at Trini and Jason who were walking slowly, Amy sighed. "Sounds great."

Trini noticed Amy's uncomfortable glances and sighed deeply. "Jason..." she started.

He turned and looked at her. "You cut your hair."

"...yeah." Her hands went up and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"It looks good." He went back to staring at his feet.

"Jason, look...I'm here...you're here...how about we make a pact to be civil and to be friends with one another." She stopped and turned to him. "I don't want it to be awkward with everyone."

"Friends?" He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes, friends Jason. I don't want...this." She spread her arms. "This uncomfortable tension. I want us to be able to hang out with the rest of the gang." They stopped on the edge of where everyone else was sitting. "Can we try to be friends?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, we can try to be friends."

With a long suffering sigh Trini stared at him and shook her head. "Jason, you're the one who left, not me. If anything, **I** should be mad at you, not the other way around." She shoved her hands in her pockets. "Let's go and sit down before they start to tell stories about us."

They walked towards the blanket, Trini sitting with Kim and Amy and Jason choosing to sit on the edge near Tommy. Amy exchanged a brief glance with Trini who looked away.

"So you're a doctor?" Kim continued taking a bite of a carrot stick. "I don't think I could do it...too much blood. Ick."

Amy shrugged. "It is nothing compared to some I have seen. I want to help people." She pulled her knees to her chest and leaned her chin on them.

Kim looked at Trini. "And Tri...YOU a doctor! You wouldn't even dissect a frog in biology!"

"I found that I really liked learning about anatomy...and I got to help people...." She turned to the rest of the group. "So what about the rest of you guys? It's been AGES."

"I'm teaching high school science in Reefside." Tommy said taking a bite of a sandwich.

"And I'm running a gymnastics centre in Reefside." Kim added, snuggling close to Tommy.

"I am working at a biomedical engineering company here." Billy replied with a smile.

"Accounting." Zack shrugged. "Boring, but good pay and good business parties."

"...Environmental law." Jason said softly. He avoided Trini's glance. The environment had always been HER thing, something she was passionate about, not Jason. Everyone expected Trini to go into environmental science or law...not Jason.

The awkward silence was back, Trini staring at Jason with inquiring eyes and Jason avoiding her glance.

"How about we play some Frisbee before we get into the whole meal." Tommy said fishing a bright disc out of the bag.

"Good idea." Kim replied quickly.

Zack held his hand out to Amy and pulled her to her feet. Billy shot a glance to Trini who was still staring at Jason. "Wait up Zack, I'm coming." He called following them.

"Environmental law?"

Jason shrugged and brushed his hands on his jeans. He wanted to tell her that he did it because of her. He wanted to tell her that no matter where he looked, he saw her. He wanted to tell her that no matter where he went, he heard her. But he didn't. "I took a few classes here...and I was pretty good at it so I decided to go into law."

"Environmental law?" She stood up and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Jase..."

He turned to her and gave her a soft smile. "I'm really glad you're back Trini."

She watched her other friends toss the Frisbee around and turned back to Jason. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to ask but couldn't. "I'm glad I'm back."

--

The sun began to slowly set, leaving an orange glow in the park. Amy looked at her watch and began to quietly excuse herself from the group. Trini, engrossed in her conversation with Tommy and Kim gave her a short wave of acknowledgement.

"I'll be right back." She said softly, grabbing her backpack and heading towards the shade of a tree.

"What was that about?" Zack asked watching Amy leave.

"It's sunset." Trini said simply turning back to her conversation. After five years of living with Amy she knew more about Islam than most people knew about their own beliefs. "Prayer time."

Zack looked on in interest as the conversation picked up again. Quickly Amy returned to the group, smiling at Zack who looked away quickly.

"I'm getting hungry again." Tommy complained. "It's like...6pm. We've been talking for 5 hours."

"Lots to catch up on." Kim replied giving him a playful elbow in the ribs. "And you're always hungry."

"It's not my fault." Tommy grumbled with a smile. "So what's the deal? Do we head to a restaurant? We can order in to the hotel room..."

"Our place is big enough for everyone." Zack said with a shrug. "We can order in whatever, catch the game on the TV."

"Sounds good, Kim and I will go pick up some stuff and meet you guys at their place." Tommy said pulling Kim off the blanket.

"I have to go feed Refraction. He's my dog." Billy explained. "But I'll meet you guys as soon as I'm done."

"Then it's settled." Zack wiped his hands on his jeans. "Jase, how about you and Trini go ahead and see what we have at the house. Amy and I will pick things up at the grocery store, if that works?"

"I won't complain." Amy said grabbing her bag. "See you later Tri?"

Trini and Jason exchanged worried glances, getting the distinct feeling that they had just been set up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own them, I'm just playing.**

Jason held the door of his truck open for Trini and closed it behind her. He watched his other friends disperse and wrote a mental note to kill Zack while he slept. No one was devious enough to do anything like this, but Zack. Climbing into his side, Jason gave Trini a soft smile. "I blame Zack."

"Don't forget Amy. She'd do it too." Trini sighed and looked out the window. "I'm sure the two of them concocted this plan."

"Probably." He started the car and turned to her. "Trini, I'm sorry."

"Jason, it's in the past." She closed her eyes. "I really don't want to re-hash it, if that's okay with you."

He started the truck. "Okay. But, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Silence enveloped them. "You could say something..."

Her dark almond shaped eyes opened in a flash. "What do you expect me to say Jason? Do you expect me to say that it's fine? **YOU** left promising you were coming back and you never did." She crossed her arms across her chest and glared out the window. "Let's just go."

"Tri..."

"Don't Jason. Just don't." She looked out the window. "I don't want to do this."

He put the truck in drive and slowly began to exit the parking lot. Silence fell over them as they drove down the streets, finally pulling in front of a small apartment building.

"Are we going to keep this up?" He asked shooting her a short look.

"What?"

Throwing the truck into park he turned to her. "This. Giving each other the cold shoulder. The uncomfortable silence." He watched as her dark eyes flashed.

"I thought it would be easy. It's been six years..."

--

"There was a guy named Stewart...but it was only a few dates. Then some random guy named Antonio that stalked her and went all crazy. Fun times, that. And some nutso named Anderson. Real whackjob that one." Amy had her feet propped up on the dashboard of Zack's car. "Honestly, I have never seen her date anyone seriously."

"Interesting." Zack took a swallow of his coffee and smiled at Amy. "Jason hasn't really dated anyone either. Few dates here and there..."

Amy drank her coffee and looked out the slightly tinted window. "You do not think that they will kill each other, do you?"

"Probably not, but if they do...I want to get a front row seat to the fight." He grinned. "Trini and Jason were always two of the strongest fighters in our group...we all did martial arts." He added quickly. "It would be epic to see them spar again."

"Trini's pretty good." Amy said with a smile. "But I've beaten her once or twice."

"YOU do martial arts?"

"My dad was born in Ohio. He met my mom when she was taking school in Maryland. He taught all of us...."

Zack thought about that for a second and opened his mouth to say something else, his cell phone cutting him off. "Just a sec." He flipped it opened. "'Lo?"

"Dude, we have like no food at our place." Jason said, his tone angry.

"Oh. Okay, well, Amy and I will go pick some stuff up then." Zack rolled his eyes at Amy who just smiled.

"No, leave Amy here. Come pick up Trini."

"No dice." He closed the phone and turned it off. "Well, they're still alive." He said cheerfully.

"For how long?" Amy adjusted in the seat. "We should probably go pick up the food or else they WILL kill each other."

"Nah, Trini may kill Jason...but he won't kill her." He started the car. "We'll pick up some Chinese food or something."

Amy nodded. "Okay..."

--

"I had a job to do!" Jason yelled. He threw his jacket on the couch and glared at Trini. "YOU KNOW THAT I COULDN'T TELL ANYONE!"

"So no calls, no letters? You could have at least told me you were alive!" Trini yelled back. "I didn't need to know what you were doing, just that you were okay!"

"I COULDN'T!!!!! AND BY THAT POINT YOU WOULD HAVE MOVED ON!" Jason roared.

"MOVE ON! HA! I COULDN'T MOVE ON JASON! IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT ANYONE DID, I SPENT MY TIME THINKING ABOUT YOU, WORRYING ABOUT YOU!"

"You...worried about me?" Jason stopped his ranting and raving and turned to Trini.

"'Course I worried about you." Trini glared. "But YOU only worry about yourself, don't you?"

The anger was back. "I WAS THINKING ABOUT YOU! I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO GET INVOLVED! THE LESS YOU KNEW THE BETTER! I WAS GOING TO COME BACK WHEN IT WAS DONE AND EXPLAIN EVERYTHING!"

"Yeah, we see how well THAT worked out." Trini replied caustically.

"I was GOING TO..."

"Whatever Jason."

They stared at each other, eyes burning, completing missing the noise when Amy and Zack walked in arms full of food.

"Told you they were alive." Zack said out of the corner of his mouth.

Amy rolled her eyes. "For how long....Hey guys, we brought food!"

"Amy, we're leaving." Trini said, grabbing her best friend's arm and trying to lead her out of the room.

"No, we're not." She pulled her arm free.

"Amy..." Trini looked around the room for some sort of ally, seeing none she crossed her arms across her chest and glared. "Come on."

"No. Trini, I've been here for...what? Three days? You've been acting like a zombie since we've gotten here. I don't care what has crawled up your ass and died, but figure it out." She turned to Jason. "You TWO figure it out."

He started to speak but Amy cut him off. "No, listen Red –boy. I'm sick and tired of this. You two have to figure out what is going on and you have to fix it. I don't want to be in the middle of this."

Jason looked towards Zack. "Sorry dude, I'm with her." Zack said with a grin.

"Fix it." Amy cocked an eyebrow and kept glaring. "I don't care HOW or how long it takes, FIX IT!"

Frowning Jason turned to smaller woman. "You and what army?" His anger was getting the best of him and he really didn't care who he pissed off.

Trini winced. Amy rarely got angry, but when she did it was like an explosion that rocked the world. She approached Jason and shoved him roughly against the wall. He towered over her, but she didn't care. "I don't need an army. Trust me. You and Trini WILL fix whatever the HELL is going on between you two." She glared at Trini who was still wincing at the way Amy held Jason up against the wall. "Got it?"

He nodded silently.

"Trini?"

"Just leave him alone, Amy."

With one last glare, Amy let Jason go and spun around so quickly the bottom of her hijab whipped him in the face. She flounced back to where Zack was standing with a stunned look on his face. "My daddy was a Navy SEAL."

Jason rubbed the spot on his chest where Amy had pushed him and frowned, Trini avoided everyone's glances, Amy was glaring at both of them with a murderous look on her face and Zack was looking at Amy like she had hung the moon. Billy, Kim and Tommy walked in, stopping at the scene.

"What happened?" Tommy asked his arms full.

"Dude...you just missed Amy kicking Jason's ass..." Zack said still in slight awe. "It was AWESOME." He breathed.

Tommy raised an eyebrow at Zack and then turned his look to Amy who was still shooting daggers at his friends. "SHE..."

Zack covered his mouth. "Dude, she'll do it to you too..." He grinned at Amy who rolled her eyes but cracked a shy smile.

Billy cleared his throat nervously. "I regret to break up this...well whatever this is...but it is probably prudent that we acquire some sort of substance before our sugar levels begin to decrease..."

Rubbing his hand over his face, Tommy gave a confused look to Kim who shrugged and turned to Zack. "Hunh?"

"Essentially eat before we get sick." Amy said with a nod. "We will probably all think better on a full stomach anyway."

"We brought beer and water!" Kim said with a fake smile, the tension still thick in the air.

Jason stomped past her and grabbed a box of Chinese food that sat on their cupboard. He opened it and glared. "Who the hell got this vegetarian crap? I always get mooshoo pork, you know that Zack."

"It's MY vegetarian crap." Amy said snatching it out of his hands. "They're all LABELED." She enunciated slowly and nodded towards Billy, Tommy and Kim who were all standing back nervously. "Thanks for the water, Kim." She finished sweetly.

"Uh...no problem." Kim scooped a box out of the bag and sat at the table. "Thanks for getting the food."

Amy shrugged. "No worries." She looked over at everyone else and rolled her eyes. "The food's for everyone. And I won't bite."

"Hard." Trini mumbled under her breath but grabbed a box and sat down at the table. The others followed suit.

--

Her hands shook. Everything was spiralling out of control, taking herself with it. She knelt by the toilet and frowned. Control. That's all she wanted. Control. Control over herself, control over her life. The smooth metal spoon handle was cold in her hands. She began her morbid work, poking and prodding. She stared into the white bowl, at the mixture floating at the top of the water, hating herself and the terrible concoction of chunks of food and discoloured liquids. She sat reflectively, even when her stomach was absolutely empty, still before the toilet. She had always thought beforehand that, when a person forces themselves to vomit, it would be easier than this, that it would take one nice, solid gagging and the whole meal would present itself lovingly to be flushed away. That was not at all the case. Little by little, it made itself back out of the body, purged by the same way it entered. Even for a master at this horrible art form, it took a solid half an hour and a sore throat from the constant jabbing to completely rid themselves of a small meal. It was far from the romanticized event she had always imagined it would be...yet still, it provided an undeniable peace and much-needed control. A knock on the door jolted her from her quiet introspection and forced her to shove the spoon under the sink. Slowly she opened the door and gave Amy a small smile.

"You okay? You look kind of pale?"

Trini rushed by her, popping a few mints into her mouth. "Fine. Sorry I took so long, I was...thinking."

Amy frowned but nodded slowly. "S'okay. I think I'm going to head to bed...The time difference is still killing me."

"Sure." Trini took a long swallow of water. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Right." Amy gave Trini one last look, her aqua eyes prying.

Trini shut her door and slumped to the floor, the energy drained from her body...

--

"Holy crap Jason." Zack struggled to hold onto the punching bag that was jerking madly with each of Jason's punches.

Jason ignored Zack and kept punching the bag, the punching releasing some of the pent up anger and stress from the night.

"It's your fault you know." Jason panted, his hands on his knees. "You HAD to call her. You HAD to invite her over."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Whatever man. She's my friend too, not just YOUR ex." He grinned. "Oh...and I think I'm going to call Trini and Amy tomorrow."

"You just want to hang out more with Amy." Jason accused him with a glare.

"You have to admit, she's pretty awesome." Zack gave him a smile. Not a cocky smile, not a devious smile, but a nervous smile. "I think she's really cool."

"Mmmm hmmm." Jason spun around and kicked the bag and sent it swinging, almost taking off Zack's head.

"Dude, it's time to get over it." Zack said with a glare.

"It's been six years...don't you think I've TRIED!?" Jason ripped off his gloves and threw them in the corner. "I've tried to get over her...but I can't...I...need her."

"Have you told her this?"

"We can't even get through a conversation without yelling at each other." Jason said softly. "There's no way she'd listen."

"Never know, Jase. Never know." Zack started up the stairs. "Anyway...I'm going to go to bed. You know, need my beauty sleep and all."

Jason watched as Zack bounded up the stairs and slumped to the floor, the energy draining from is body...

--


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own anyone.**

Amy was a morning person; 6 am couldn't come fast enough for her. Even in her jet lagged state 6am came as a comfort. Fajr prayer was always her favourite time, the sun still not up, but just the deep glow flooding the world. She pulled herself out of bed and headed towards the washroom. After the prayer she pulled on a pair of track pants, a hooded long sleeved shirt and a pair of well-worn runners.

Pocketing her Ipod, she left a note on Trini's door and left. Her feet hit the pavement in a steady cadence, heading towards the park that they had been at before. She pushed herself hard, her breath coming in gasps, her lungs and chest burning, her legs screaming for her to stop. Finally, she pulled up in the park, leaning forward on her knees, taking in the sweet oxygen her body craved.

The morning air was cool and sweet as she slowly walked in the grass, catching her breath. Her eyes scanned the park, falling on a person leaning against a tree, bottle of water to their lips. She made her way to the edge of the park, readjusting her hair into a tight ponytail and started jogging home. Footsteps followed her...closer and closer. Her cadence picked up...so did theirs. She could feel it. A hand on her shoulder... Instinctively she grabbed the hands and pulled the person over her shoulder. They landed with a thump in front of her, her foot placed firmly on their throat.

A pair of dark eyes peered up at her. "Amy...?" He choked out weakly.

Quickly Amy removed her foot from Zack's throat and blushed, pulling the hood over her head. "Z-Zack. I'm sorry..."

"So am I." He smiled weakly and rubbed his neck. "Sorry I scared you."

She kept her eyes downcast and shrugged. "Sorry I...well..."

Still rubbing his neck, Zack smiled. "Trying to kill me?"

"Stun, not kill." She turned away. "Sorry."

He smiled and jogged to catch up to her. "Hey, it's okay." Tugging gently on the bottom of her hooded sweatshirt he tried to make her turn around. "I scared you."

Amy stopped and stared at her shoes for a few seconds before looking up shyly. "It's okay. I...I just wasn't expecting that." They had started walking, her strides quicker, attempting to keep up to his. "Do you always run so early?"

He wiped his forehead with the collar of his shirt. "Yeah, always try to get a run in before work. Trini with you?"

She shook her head. "No. As much as Trini enjoys the morning and the outdoors, 6am runs are not something she does do. Jason?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "No. Jase loves working out as much as anyone...just not until the sun rises. Why are you up so early?"

Tilting her head, Amy looked up at him, a few pieces of unruly curly hair escaping from under her hood. "It's not that early." She nervously played with her hands, diverting her gaze again. "I always run after I pray."

"Oh." Zack fell silent, not quite knowing what to say next. They walked in silence until they reached the edge of the park. "Can I walk you home?"

"If you want."

--

Trini moaned and pulled the pillow over her face. She could hear banging and crashing of pots and pans and music flowing through her door. Finally, after a few minutes, she rolled out of bed and stomped into the main room. Part of her was thankful that her parent's home had a separate basement suit...the rest of her wanted to beat that part up.

"Good morning." Amy sang cheerfully and plated some scrambled eggs. She turned back to the stove and pulled off the pan of turkey bacon. "Here, have some breakfast."

"Not hungry." Trini mumbled.

"Don't care." Amy replied filling a plate. She started eating and stared down at Trini until she followed suit. "I ran into Zack when I was running today."

"Oh." Trini slowly swallowed a piece of egg and prayed that it would stay down. "That's strange, Zack wasn't much of a runner in high school."

"Neither was I." Amy pointed out layering jam on a piece of toast. "He said maybe we could all get together sometime and watch a movie or something."

"Yeah...great idea. You saw what happened last night." Trini replied.

"What WAS that all about anyway?" Amy asked spearing a piece of turkey bacon and placing it in her mouth.

"Nothing."

"Riiiiiiight...and I'm the Queen of Sheba."

"Nice to meet you, your highness." Trini replied rolling her eyes. "Seriously Amy, it's nothing."

"How long were you two together?" Amy put her fork down and stared at Trini. Trini knew she was in trouble when she realised that Amy had stop eating and was staring at her. According to Amy, the three most important things in her life were Islam, her family and food. And not necessarily in that order all of the time. Trini know that Amy was going to get her answer be it through her or through her friends.

"Almost three years." Trini stared down at the food on her plate and swallowed the urge to vomit. "We...he...he had to leave."

"And?"

"He promised me he would come back..." The colours began to swirl in front of her.

"He didn't, did he?" Amy's voice was soft, soothing.

"No." There was a tone of finality in Trini's voice. "He didn't. He promised, and he didn't. We never 'broke up' per say...it just ended. I didn't know where he was...if he was okay...everything just came spiralling down around me."

Amy sighed and watched as Trini wrestle with her emotions. "Tri...."

"It's over."

"It's only over it if you say it is. He can only bother you if you allow him to. Do you want it to be over?" Amy pushed a curl out of her face.

"I...I'm not sure."

"Mmm hmm." Amy took a swallow of the orange juice. "Maybe you should talk to him about it."

"Yeah right...you saw how well that worked out...thanks to you and Zack."

Amy had the good conscious to smile and shrug. "It was his idea. I just didn't argue with him. He's pretty charming."

Trini put her fork down. "Are you going to shower first or should I?"

"I probably should, plus I'm finished eating...you're not." Amy took her plate to the sink and headed towards the washroom.

Trini waited until she heard the sound of the shower before dumping the rest of her breakfast. "I'm done too."

--

"You're far too happy in the morning."

Zack grinned and rubbed his head with a towel. "Had a good run."

Jason sipped his coffee and glared. "Right. At 6am?"

"Awesome run at 6am." Zack replied his grin growing. "In fact, it was perfect."

"Who did you meet?"

"What makes you think I met someone?" Stealing a sip of coffee, he hid his grin behind the coffee cup.

"You only come in like that when you've met someone. Who is she?"

"Amy." Zack smiled. "She was out running this morning too."

"I see." Jason waited for him to continue. "And?"

"I think we're going to go to a movie...and I think that YOU and Trini have to talk."

Rolling his eyes, Jason scoffed. "Yeah right. That will go over well. Last time we talked we were at each other's throats."

"She's probably still hurt Jase." Chugging some orange juice from the container, Zack leaned against the doorframe. "Hell Jase, I was pissed when you left and didn't tell me, but I wasn't in love with you. Best friends, yeah. But not love. Trini loved you...and I think she still does."

"She hates my guts." Jason tried to reason. "She loathes me."

"No. She hates what you did to her. I don't think that Trini could ever hate you." Zack threw the juice container out and shook his head.

"She hates me."

"You're retarded." Zack rolled his eyes. "I'm going to shower. Maybe you should think things through and figure out what the hell you want in life. If it's eating instant noodles and watching the 49ers get their asses kicked night in and night out...then keep on the track you're on. But you're unhappy. Hell, you've been unhappy since I've come back...and according to Tommy, you were unhappy before that."

"I'm going to take a shower and get away from your half cracked psycho babble..."

"You can get away from my psycho babble now...but it's always going to be there. If you want to be happy...maybe you should get your head out of your ass and look around. There's a beautiful intelligent girl right in front of you and you're too stupid to see it. Seriously man, you have got to do some rectal excavation to be able to see the sun." Zack slammed the door to the bathroom and turned on the water. A few seconds later he threw the door open and stuck his head out. "By the way...I'm going to call everyone today to do something. Maybe once you get your head pulled out of your ass you might want to join us."

Jason threw his shoes that were on the floor at the door and glared. "Mind your own business Zack."

"When it affects all of us, it IS my business." Zack replied through the bathroom door.

Jason sighed and looked out the window. He hated it when Zack was right, and he was right. He was unhappy...and had been since he left the conference. Six long years of unhappiness weighs on a person. He chewed his bottom lip, deep in thought. Is it possible to really be happy after being so unhappy for so long?

--

Control. That's all she wanted. No, she wanted to be happy and be in control. Happiness? This wasn't going to make her happy...but it was going to give her control. She turned on the shower full blast to mask the noise. She hadn't done this in forever...and now twice in two days. She couldn't even remember the last time she purged before yesterday. Med school finals? Maybe not even then. In Geneva when Jason left? Maybe. She watched as the breakfast she just ate swirled down the toilet. Control. It's all she wanted.

--

**There we go, chapter 3. I hope that it lives up to everyone's expectations. **


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm going to Trini's."

Tommy stuck his head out of the washroom where he was brushing his teeth. "Mmmmkay." He spit in the sink. "I'll probably go visit the guys. I'll keep my cellphone on me."

"And keep it on." Kim added with a grin. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and grabbed her jacket. "I'll be back later." She jumped into Tommy's jeep and started heading towards Trini's parent's house. It was her second home all through middle school and high school, she still knew the way by heart. Quickly she pulled up in front of the two story house and threw the jeep into park and hopped out. She didn't even both knocking, opening the front door and running down the stairs, just like days of yore. "Hi Mai! Hi Weilei!" She cried thundering down the stairs. The two parents smiled at each other and went back to sipping their tea. It was a comforting, normal sight to see Kimberly fly into their house and fly downstairs to Trini's room.

"Trini!" Kim cried from the middle of the stairs.

Amy looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at Kim. "She is still in the washroom. I am beginning to think that she drowned."

"Oh." Kim sat down on the chair across from Amy. "You're not wearing your..." She pointed to her head.

"Hijab? Yeah, I do not wear it all the time." She pushed a stray curl off her face. At Kim's strange look, she smiled. "I realise that technically I should wear it all the time, but it is for modesty, and personally... She shrugged. "As I see it, modesty is a way of presenting yourself...never mind. I just do not wear it all the time."

Kim nodded. "Oh, cool."

"Also, it is not necessary to wear it when in your own home, with your family or around women." Amy added with a grin.

"You have REALLY great hair." Kim shook her head. "Man, I remember in the 6th grade I convinced my mom to get a perm so my hair would go curly like yours."

"And she looked like she had stuck her finger in a light socket." Trini said coming out of the washroom.

"It was not THAT bad."

Trini raised her eyebrows. "I still have that class photo. DON'T make me get it."

"Okay okay, it was that bad." Kim laughed. "So what are your plans today?"

"There were rumours of dinner and a movie with the guys." Trini said stealing a glance at Amy.

"Oh? I didn't hear about that."

Amy rubbed her face with the palm of her hand and blushed a deep red. "Actually, I met Zack when I was running this morning and he suggested that we meet up for dinner and a movie."

"When did you see Zack? It's only 10 am?" Kim frowned and then a look of horror crossed her face. "You're one of THOSE people."

"What people?" Amy gave Trini and Kim a confused look.

"Morning people." Kim said flatly.

A grin crossed Amy's face. "Yes, I am a morning person. And what do you think? Dinner and a movie?"

"Well, if we're doing dinner and a movie...that means only one thing." Kim said with a smile. "Shopping."

Trini rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Angel Grove Mall almost went out of business when you left."

"Hey, Aisha did a darn good job filling in for me!" Kim cried indignantly

"Kim, no one could replace you and your credit card."

Jumping up from her seat, Kim pulled Trini up. "Come on, let's go buy some new clothes, ladies."

It was Amy's turn to groan. "How about you two go? I hate shopping."

"You what?" Kim stared at Amy like she had grown another head. "You hate SHOPPING?"

"Yes." Amy shook her head. "How about you two come pick me up after you are done."

"Are you sure?" Trini picked up her purse and jacket. "I mean, we don't HAVE to go."

"Go. I will be fine. I will have my phone with me, so do not worry."

"Okay..." Trini shot her one last look. "You're sure?"

"POSITIVE." Amy waved at the two women. "Go, I will be fine."

"Let's go Trini." Kim pulled Trini upstairs. "We'll see you later, Amy."

"Bye." Amy shook her head and opened her book back up.

--

"Shit Zack, did you SWIM in cologne?" Tommy waved his hands in front of his face. "Dude, my eyes are watering."

Zack sniffed his shirt. "Too much?"

"Duuude. Yes. You're making my eyes water." Jason said wincing.

Shrugging, Zack headed towards the front door. "I'll go for a walk...see if I can get rid of some of the – "

"Wretched smell?"

"Cloud of stench?"

With a glare Zack marched out the front door, leaving Jason and Tommy exchanging grins. "Think he's trying to impress someone?"

"Just a thought." Tommy pulled a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch. "Speaking of impressing someone..."

Jason rolled his eyes. "I may need something stronger than a beer for this conversation."

"Jase, you're my best friend. We've been best friends for what, 10 year? I know you still love Trini...man, what happened? You guys were..."

"We WERE." Jason cut him off. "We're not anymore."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you guys break up in the first place? One second you guys were in love...then you were back in Angel Grove without her." A look of epiphany crossed his face. "You didn't."

The silence answered the question for him.

"Jesus Jason." Tommy wiped his face with his hand. "Did you even call her?"

Silence.

"Shit, no wonder she's still mad at you."

Jason took a swallow of his beer and raised his eyebrow. "Thanks for the support."

They sat in silence, Jason cracking two more beer before someone uttered another word. "You have to regain her trust."

"If you have any idea, I'm all ears." Jason closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm all ears."

--

"This is cute."

Trini looked over. "And costs more than I earn in a month."

"I thought you were a DOCTOR." Kim took the shirt in her arms anyway.

"Resident. Meaning we earn peanuts to do all the work." Trini sighed.

"Are you getting hungry? I'm ready to eat a horse."

"Nah." Trini gave Kim a forced smile. "There are still a few shops I'd like to hit before we head home."

Kim shrugged. "Sure." A devious smile crossed her face. "Looking for something to impress a certain someone?"

With a glare that could freeze water, Trini shook her head. "Kim, Jason and I are through. We were together, now we aren't. I doubt we'll get back together again, so no."

"Do you mind if I ask what happened? All I know is that one day you guys were happy and together...and then the next letter I got from you...you weren't."

"He left." Trini said blankly and wandered off to the next aisle.

--

Amy juggled the soccer ball from foot to foot. There was something relaxing about being outside and control of something, even as small and stupid as a soccer ball.

"Hey, you're pretty good."

She kicked the ball into the mesh and looked over her shoulder. Zack smiled. "I promise I'm not stalking you." He jogged over and passed the ball back to her. "I just went for a walk."

"Trini and Kim are shopping."

"And you aren't?" Zack accepted her pass and gave her a soft smile.

"No." She blushed and looked down at her shoes. "I hate shopping."

"I see." Juggling the ball he passed it back to her. "I think you're the first female I've ever known that hates shopping."

Amy shrugged and gave Zack a sideways glance. "I cannot see the point of purchasing new things when the old ones are perfectly good." She took a sip of water and sat down on the soccer ball. "What?"

Zack smiled softly. "Nothing. It's just that...I've never met anyone like you before."

Pulling her hair back, Amy looked up at him, her blue eyes shining. She didn't say anything, but gave him a soft smile. "I should go back, I am sure that Trini will panic if I am not home when they return."

"Can I carry your ball?"

"Is that kind of like asking me if you can carry my books?" Amy stood up and kicked the ball to herself.

"Yeah, kinda." He blushed. "So, can I carry your ball?"

She kicked the ball up and let him catch it. "I guess you can."

"Hey, do I smell like a cloud of stench?"

Amy cocked her eyebrow and stared at him.

"Know what? Never mind."

--

Kim covered the mouthpiece of her cellphone and turned to Trini and Amy. "Tommy wants to know where we want to go eat."

"Wherever." Trini put the finishing touches on her makeup. "Amy?"

Amy looked up from her computer and peered over her glasses. "Whatever you choose, I am sure it will be fine. I just have to finish sending this email." Her fingers flew over the keys.

"Wherever you guys want." Kim said with a sigh. "Apparently we're an indecisive bunch here."

"Apathetic." Trini called.

"Apathetic. So where were you guys thinking?" Kim rolled her eyes at Trini. "Italian food? Yeah, that works. Okay, we'll see you guys in half an hour." She closed her phone and looked at Trini. "Hey Tri?"

"Yeah?" Trini turned and looked at the gymnast.

"Do you think that you and Jason can be friends?"

"I hope." She went back to applying her makeup while Kim and Amy exchanged worried glances.

--

"Amy." Zack smiled and pulled the chair out and gently pushed it in for her.

Tommy and Jason rolled their eyes, but followed suit. "Thanks." Trini whispered. Jason nodded in acknowledgement. "Is Billy joining us?"

"Oh yeah, he and Emma are going to be a bit late." Tommy shrugged. "Traffic. He said for us to order some appetizers and they'll get here when they can.

Tommy, Zack, Amy and Kim spoke about careers, relocating and sports while Trini and Jason kept shooting nervous looks to each other. The conversation continued when Billy and his girlfriend Emma sat at the table.

"I've heard SO much about you Trini!" Emma gushed with a smile. "Billy talks about you like you're a God."

"I'm just a normal person." Trini said forcing a smile for the redhead. "Really."

"Not the way Billy tells it!" She gave the blond man a hug. "He says you're really something special."

"She is!" Zack butt in with a grin. "First time I met her...she got me out of detention."

"US out of detention." Kim said with a grimace. "All of us."

--

_Ten year old Trini Kwan looked around at the lunch room. She was the new kid and hated being the new kid. Everyone had their groups, their tables, and she had nowhere. Sighing she sat down at an empty table and opened a book. _

"_You're AT our table."_

_Trini looked up and saw four girls, probably her age or a bit older, glaring down at her. "Really? I didn't realise that there was assigned seating."_

"_There ISN'T. We just sit here all the time, and we don't want your Laundromat stench to smell it up." The tallest of the group said with a sneer._

_Comments like that hurt Trini, but she never showed. Her dark eyes flashed for a second before she stood up and moved a few tables over. She could hear the girls laughing at her expense, but she kept reading her book before a loud yell got her attention._

"_Swear Farcus, if you don't give back Billy's lunch I'm going to..."_

"_Going to do WHAT Taylor? Cry to your mommy?" A large boy taunted, waving a lunch bag over his head._

"_Give it BACK!" Another boy cried, his dark hair brushed back._

"_Whatever Scott. Let's see what the baby has in his lunch." The larger boy opened it up and laughed. "A pudding cup! Look Eugene! I LOVE pudding."_

"_I'm going to tell the principal!" A girl in pink squealed._

"_Dare you."_

_She frowned and sat beside a boy in glasses who was looking sadly at the empty table. Trini sighed and stood up. She walked over to the larger boy and from behind ripped the lunch bag from his hand and tossed it over to the girl._

"_HEY!"_

_Trini turned and stared at the bully. "Yes?"_

"_...the hell?! Girlie, you owe me a lunch."_

_She cocked an eyebrow. "I don't owe you anything." Turning on her heel she went back to her own lunch and opened the book and kept reading. It wasn't until another yell that she looked up. The bully had the black boy by the collar of his shirt and was shoving the other boy against the wall._

"_If you don't let me down Farcus I'm going to BITE YOU!" The black boy yelled squirming._

_The other boy didn't even threaten. He just pulled back his fist and with a martial art yell hit the bully in the chest. The three of them went tumbling to the ground in a pile of screaming and flailing limbs. Trini watched in fascination and horror at the boys, another two added into the pile, the blonde boy whose lunch had been stolen and a tall gangly kid who she took to be Eugene. The girl in pink stood to the side screaming at the top of her lungs. It was quite a sight for anyone, but especially for a quiet child like Trini it was like a scene out of some demented horror movie. She closed her book and placed it in her backpack with a sigh. Marching over to the pile up, she grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, a black shirt, and pulled. The black boy came free and she pulled him to his feet. With another tug she freed the boy with glasses and then finally the boy with the combed back hair. She would have kept going but a firm grip stopped her._

"_Miss Kwan?"_

_Trini looked up at the face of the frowning principal and winced. "Yes sir."_

"_Come with me. And you six too."_

_The girl in pink screwed up her face and started to whimper. "But...but Mister Cash we didn't do ANYTHING!" Tears began to stream down her face._

"_Miss Hart, I've given you, Mister Taylor, Mister Scott and Mister Cranston enough leeway this year and for some reason you four are always in my office for something or another. I'm putting an end to it."_

_Trini swallowed hard and planted her feet, pulling the principal to a stop. "Mister Cash...I can explain the whole situation if I am allowed." She began speaking at warp speed, ending with an emphatic "And that's exactly what happened." _

_Principal Cash sighed. He knew that Eugene and Farcus were usually the instigators when it came to fights though the four youths always fought back. "I will let the four of you off with a warning this time." He pushed Farcus and Eugene along. "You two...come with me."_

_The boy in black stared at Trini before his face breaking into an ear to ear grin. "Wow. That was....awesome." He sighed. "I'm Zack, Zack Taylor."_

_Trini shrugged. "It was nothing. And I'm Trini Kwan."_

"_Kim Hart." The girl in pink said with a small wave._

"_Billy Cranston." The boy in blue smiled._

_She turned to the boy with the combed back hair and gave him a soft smile. He blushed and cleared his throat. "I'm Jason. Jason Lee Scott." He extended his hand._

--

"Even then Jason was smitten by Trini." Zack ended with a smile. "But it took them – OUCH!" He winced and glared at Kim who was sitting across from him. "What was that for?"

Trini stared down at her half empty plate while Jason tried to look anywhere but at them.

"Nice work, Zack." Tommy muttered.

"I...I have to go to the washroom." Trini muttered quickly pushing her chair back.

Amy watched with a concerned eye and chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Actually, I will come with you."

Shaking her head, she gave Amy a sharp look. "No."

Leaning back in her chair, Amy watched as Trini rushed to the washroom, making a mental note to talk to her after. She turned back to the group and gave a terse smile. "So Emma, how did you meet Billy?"

_**Here is the latest chapter of "the colour of love." Sorry for the delay, my thesis paper is kicking my butt.**_

_**-Jasmeen**_


	6. Chapter 6

Amy listened to the story before quietly excusing herself. She was not stupid. On the contrary Amy had a sneaking suspicion what was going on, and she would find out. She heard vomiting from a stall and leaned against the counter. A few minutes later Trini emerged from the stall, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She stopped when she saw Amy.

"I can explain."

"This, I want to hear." Amy crossed her arms across her chest and stared at her best friend. "Okay, go on. Explain."

Trini stayed silent, her dark eyes pleading with Amy for understanding. "I...uh..."

"How long?"

Shrugging, Trini held her hands out. "Uh..."

"It's him, right?"

Trini nodded. "Jason, yes."

Amy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "And THIS is the best idea you thought of? Really? Purging?"

"When I see him...I get out of control. THIS allows me some control in my life. Residency...moving...and then Jason. I'm in control of NOTHING." Trini washed her hands in the sink and clenched the cold porcelain. "I didn't plan for it to happen. I didn't wake up and go 'Hey, today I've decided to make myself throw up.' Trust me. It just sort of happened."

"Trini, you're a doctor. You know about the side effects, I don't have to lecture you on them." Amy chewed the inside of her cheek. She shook her head slowly. "I can't believe you."

"I can't believe it myself." Trini admitted.

"And all for...HIM." Amy spit his name out like it was acid. "I should have kicked his ass when I had the chance. Wallahi, you give me the word and I will."

For the first time in a while, Trini laughed. "I know you would Amy. And that's why I love you. How about we go back before everyone thinks we drowned? We can talk more about this at home."

Amy nodded slowly. "Okay."

"And you're going to promise to be NICE."

Rolling her blue-green eyes, Amy sighed. "Civil?"

"Nice."

"Fine." She pushed a curl away from her face. "I'll try." She sighed and gave Trini a hug. "Do NOT do this to me again."

Trini smiled. "Thanks Amy."

--

"Thought you guys drowned." Zack said with a grin, standing up and pulling the chair out for Amy. "Glad to see you didn't."

Amy smiled. "No, no drowning. Just some girl talk."

Trini nodded stiffly, giving the rest of the table a reassuring smile.

"So Amy, you know about us...but we don't know about you." Zack started, refilling Amy's water glass.

The young woman smiled. "There's really not much to say." She took a swallow of her water. "I was born in Little Creek, West Virginia. I'm the oldest daughter of Safaya and Ahmed Saleem, but my father's name before he reverted to Islam was Derek Stephenson. I have an older brother, Hasan, two younger brothers, AbdulKareem and Danyal and two younger sisters Fatimah and Tasbih. We grew up for the most part in Bahrain, where my family still is. My papa was a SEAL, he still works for the US navy, but he's now the head of the Middle Eastern Language department."

Billy nodded his head impressively and took a sharp intake of air. "Wow. So did you take most of your school in Bahrain?"

"Years 4-10. For years 11 and 12, I came to the US and lived with my aunt in Boston, and then got accepted into Harvard." Amy shrugged. "It's really not all that interesting. People move all the time. So how about you guys?" She stole a look at Trini who was ineffectively glaring at her.

"We all pretty much grew up together. Except for Tommy, who came in high school." Kim said. "And we were all inseparable. You must have had a group like that in school."

"I had close friends, but I can't say that we were inseparable."

"Do you still go back to Bahrain?" Zack asked with a nervous smile.

"Sometimes, but not too often. I'm honestly not too sure how long my parents are going to stay there. Middle Eastern politics is always a bit dicey and because my parents have American Citizenship, they're always welcome to move back to the States."

Zack let out a sigh of relief before looking around to make sure that no one had seen his reaction. "Are your siblings in the States?"

"Hasan, he's 27, he's in Seattle working as an Engineer. AK, he's 21, he's finishing his degree at UCLA and playing soccer there. Fatimah is finishing her last year of high school in Boston, she's 18. Danyal is 14 and is still in Bahrain and Tasbih is the baby, she's 10." She shook her head. "Okay, enough about me. What about you guys? I mean, I know Trini. But what about the rest of you guys?" She turned to Zack. "How about you?"

Zack turned an unflattering shade of grey and took a long swallow of his water. "I...uh...I don't have any brothers or sisters. But I speak French, German and some Spanish." He said quickly.

Amy grinned, stealing a look at Trini, who was smiling slyly.

"You must speak quite a few languages." Emma said to Amy. "I wish I was bilingual."

"I speak some." Amy raised her eyebrows. "Okay guys, really, I feel like it's been all about me. There HAS to be something about you guys, as a group."

Jason coughed, inhaling a mouthful of water causing him to sputter and begin to choke. Trini slapped him hard on the back before sharing a look with Kimberly, Tommy, Billy and Zack.

"What? What did I say?"

"Nothing." Jason wiped his mouth. "We were a close group in school. All of us." He said quietly. "We spent a lot of time at the Youth Centre."

"We pretty much LIVED there." Billy said with a smile.

"I remember my mom calling Ernie all the time to see if I was there." Kim replied with a laugh. "But, I think my favourite memory was the spring dance."

--

_The youth centre was decorated with pale blues, pinks, yellows and greens turning the centre into a spring wonderland. Soft music flowed through centre, the tables and workout equipment moved aside to create a large dance floor. Kim leaned against one of the poles, checking the clock on the wall. She and Trini had planned to meet at 7:00. It was 7:04, and it was very rare that Trini was ever late. _

"_I'm so sorry I'm late Kimmy." Trini said, rushing into the room. Her dark hair was pinned back and done up in soft curls. The gentle yellow dress flowed around the Asian girl as she went to stand beside her best friend._

"_You look amazing Tri."_

_The shyer girl smiled. "Thanks." She flattened the front of her dress. "I wasn't sure...the dress is so..."_

"_Perfect." Kim gave the other girl a tight hug. "You look gorgeous."_

"_But not gorgeous enough for anyone to ask me out to the dance." She shrugged the smaller girl off. "Tommy just came in."_

_Kim turned and smiled at her boyfriend. "You going to be okay?"_

_Trini nodded. "Yeah, go." She watched as her best friend left, and with a sigh leaned against the railing. People streamed in as couples, their arms wrapped around each other._

"_A penny for your thoughts?"_

"_Probably cost a lot more than that." She sighed and didn't bother looking up. _

_Jason leaned forward on the railing and watched Trini. "Trini..."_

"_Why Jason?"_

"_What?"_

_She turned to him, taking in his dark pants and red shirt. "Why didn't you ask me to the dance?"_

_--_

The table was quiet, everyone exchanging worried looks except for Jason and Trini, who were both looking down at their plates.

Zack, knowing that no one else would ask, cleared his throat. "Why didn't you ask Jase?"

The former red ranger shook his head. "Because I didn't want to be rejected."

All eyes looked Jason, except for Amy who was examining Trini.

"I wouldn't have rejected you."

She shrugged. "No, you just would have left me." She muttered under her breath.

Amy's eyes went wide and looked at Zack. "Whoa." She mouthed.

Jason sighed and looked up, his brown eyes clear and a look that she hadn't seen in years was evident. "I made a mistake. A serious mistake. And I've spent the past six years paying penance for it." As if coming out of a trance, he stared at his friends who were all trying to melt into the background.

"I think we'll go up to the front and pay." Billy muttered, grabbing Emma by the hand.

"Yeah, sounds good." Tommy agreed.

"Mmm hmm."

Everyone quickly dispersed leaving Trini and Jason sitting at the table alone. "What do I have to do for you to forgive me?"

Trini chewed her lower lip. "Jason..."

"Just give me a chance. Trini, it's been six years, I haven't been able to move on because of you. I wake up all the time knowing that I hurt you. Please, give me a chance to make it better."

"Jase..."

"Please? Can we start over?"

A smile crossed her face. "You know, if you would have let me get a word in edgewise..."

He blushed. "Sorry."

She extended her hand, his larger one encasing hers. "I'd like to start over."

Clearing his throat, he adjusted his shirt. "Hi, my name is Jason Lee Scott. I'm 25 and am an Environmental lawyer for the State of California. I love sports, especially martial arts. I live with my best friend Zack Taylor, who is actually insane. Oh, and my favourite ice cream is cherry cheesecake."

Trini smiled. "I'm Trini Kwan, also 25. I'm an intern at the hospital of Angel Grove. I love sports, including martial arts but also volleyball and soccer. I actually have an appointment to look at a condo next week with my best friend Ahmereen Saleem, who what a coincidence, is also insane. And my favourite ice cream is butter pecan."

They shared a small smile, her hands still enclosed his large ones.

--

"They won't kill each other, will they?"

"Not this time." Zack took off his jacket and wrapped it around Amy's shoulders. After ribbing from Tommy, Billy and Jason, he had to agree with them. He was smitten. "So your brother plays at UCLA. We could take a roadtrip to watch him."

Amy smiled. "We probably could." She sighed and pulled him down towards a park bench. "Zack, have you ever dated a girl who was Muslim?"

He sat down and thought about the question. There had been girls, lots of girls, but as he thought back he slowly shook his head. "No. Why?"

"There's a reason for that Zack. Muslim girls...we aren't supposed to date. And especially not non Muslim guys."

"Oh." Zack stared at his hands. "Really?"

"Yeah." She stared as the sun was threatening to set. "If we were in Bahrain...both of us would be in a LOT of trouble."

"But your family..."

She shook her head. "My father did everything that was necessary to marry my mother." She pulled her hands inside the sleeves of Zack's thick jacket.

Zack sat down beside her and stared at his hands.

"Zack, I'm sorry. I really am." She started to take off his jacket.

"No...it's getting cold. Keep it on." With a deep breath, Zack turned and looked at her. "Can I at least walk you home?"

Amy gave him a small nod. "I'd like that." She stood up and waited for him to follow. "Zack, I'm really sorry."

He gave her a small flicker of a smile. "So am I Amy. So am I."

--

**Sorry this took an insanely long time and thanks for sticking with me. I'm almost finished my thesis (yes!) and I'm hoping to have some more free time in the coming months. I will be away for the next few weeks, but hopefully things should calm down.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Looks like our friends disappeared." Jason said with a smirk, holding the door open for Trini.

"Not surprised." Trini pulled her arms around herself and sighed.

Jason took off his jacket and handed it to her. "Put this on, you're going to freeze." He gave her a soft smile. "I thought you would have toughened up in Boston."

"I didn't go out much in Boston." Trini replied. "The fact that I was in Med school and the fact that it was freezing didn't make it conducive to going outside."

He smiled. "I guess not." Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he gave her a sideways glance. "So, why medicine? Is this the same girl that freaked out and left the room when we were dissecting the foetal pig?"

Trini made a face and looked at him. "I freaked out and left the room because you and Zack NAMED the pig...and then made a mobile out of it."

Blushing, Jason ran his hand over his face and gave her a small smile. "Oh right, I forgot about that. What was it named?"

"Norbert." Trini replied rolling her eyes. "You guys tormented me with that pig."

"Tormented is totally the wrong word!" Jason grinned, his perfect white teeth shining. "Harassing is preferable."

"You made a mobile out of it! And hung it above my desk!" Trini gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "If that's not harassment, I'm not sure what is." She shrugged. "So, why environmental law? If I remember correctly, you were one of the guys who couldn't come help me and Kim drop off our environmental petition because you were too busy..."

He smiled shyly, "Honestly? It made me think of you, and something that you would do. I was hoping that you were doing something to do with the environment and our paths would cross, eventually."

"Why didn't you try to contact me?"

"You went so far to change your numbers...delete me from every email and instant messaging program you had. I tried to call your house for a while, but Tin and Trang made it clear in no uncertain terms that we were through and that you never wanted to speak to me. Those two are kinda scary."

"I told them to make sure that you got the message that it was over." Trini stopped, pulling on his arm. "I needed to move on."

"Did you?"

She shook her head. "No. Every time I looked for a relationship, I tried to compare them to you. They were never you, so I just stopped looking." She turned to Jason. "How about you?"

"I tried. But I always thought of you. And they knew it. The relationships didn't last very long." He sighed. "I was in love with you from the time that I first saw you and nothing I did got me over you. I thought about you every day...wondering what you were doing. Who you were with... I thought that I had lost you forever...and then you just walked back into my life."

Trini smiled softly, "You know Jason...it doesn't change what happened between us."

"I know. But I will spend my life trying to make it up to you Trini, if you let me." He looked into her dark almond shaped eyes. "I know that I have to regain your trust Tri, and I will do everything in my power to do that. If you let me, that is."

"Jase...I've spent the last six years hating you. I've spent the last six years trying to get over you. And now we're here...and you want to start things off where we were before..."

"Trini...just give us a chance. We'll take it as slow as you want. Just give us a chance."

She nodded slowly. "How about we try?"

"I can take try. It's better than no."

**OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO**

Zack dragged his feet on the sidewalk, walking slowly. He sighed and shoved his hands deep into his pockets. Pulling the key out of his pocket, he opened the door and slammed it shut with his foot. Jason sat on the couch, a beer in hand and a goofy smile on his face.

"Hey buddy."

Zack scowled and threw the keys down on the counter and rummaged through the fridge before flopping on the armchair with a beer.

"Why the long face?" Jason said with a sedated smile.

"Did you know that Muslim girls aren't allowed to date non Muslim guys?"

"Yeah." Jason took a long swallow of his beer. "You didn't?"

"Dude, how many Muslims do I know?" Zack frowned. "Means I can't date Amy."

"Trini and I are gonna try to get back together."

Standing up, Zack threw Jason a hard glare. "Dude, this is about ME! ME ME ME!" He looked almost ready to throw himself on the ground and start pounding on the floor. "It's about ME right now. I am SICK of talking about you! It's always about you!"

"Dude...take a deep breath and calm down." Jason stood up.

Zack seemed to deflate and leaned his head back on the overstuffed armchair. "There is something about her, Jase. I want her. I NEED her."

"You've known her for three days." Jason reasoned. "Remember Angela? You bought, well tried to buy, that girl pearl earrings. And you knew her for years."

"Yeah. So? What are you saying?"

"Zack...all I'm saying is that you fall in love quickly...and you fall out just as quickly."

"Screw you Jase." Zack stood up. "Screw you."

"Hey man...calm down. Why don't we hit a bar or something with Tommy and Billy?"

"What, you gonna convince them to tell me that I'm insane?"

"Nah, I think all of us need a beer." Jason picked up his cell phone. "I'll give them a call."

**OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO**

"You're back early."

Amy shrugged and looked up from the book she was reading. "I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. How did it go with Jason?"

"Okay. We're going to take things slowly. Be friends first and see where that leads." Trini sat down beside her best friend. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Sighing, Amy rubbed her temples. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You told Zack, didn't you?"

Amy nodded. "Yeah. Doesn't matter what I think, rules are rules, right?"

Wrapping her arms around Amy, Trini laid her head on her best friend's shoulder. "Zack's a great guy."

"I know that. But you've met my family." She sighed. "So what's this with you and Jason? Can you handle it?"

"I hope so. Like I said, we're going to try to be friends first and move on from there."

"If he hurts you..."

"I know...you'll rip his still beating heart from his chest and then stomp on it."

Amy grinned evilly and nodded. "That's only the first thing that I would do to him."

"Sometimes you scare me."

"I know."

Trini released the grip she had on Amy and twirled a piece of her curly hair around her finger. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? With this whole Zack thing?"

"It's not the first, and it probably won't be the last time I will have to deal with something like this."

"Yeah, but I've never seen you act like this before. You really do like him, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter what I like, Trini. You know that. He could be the most amazing person known to man, but if he's not Muslim it doesn't matter."

Trini watched as her best friend shrugged and tried to pull away. "How about we call Kim up and get a movie? Just the three of us. A girl's night in. We can get some junk food, ice cream and complain about men. What do you say?"

Amy nodded slowly. "Sure."

**OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO**

"You guys better not start fighting again." Tommy said pointing an accusing finger at Jason. "That was scary. Surprised she didn't kick your ass."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Trini has NEVER kicked my ass."

Zack, Tommy and Billy all started speaking at the same time. Tommy finally put up his hand to silence the other two. "Bullshit."

"What? She has NEVER kicked my ass!"

Billy took a long swallow of his beer before looking over at the man in red. "I beg to differ Jason. I can recall an incident when Trini did indeed 'kick your ass.'"

"Liar."

"_Come on dude. Spar with me."_

_Tommy looked up from where he was sitting on the mat, his arm around Kimberly. "Nah man. I'm tired. Find someone else to spar with."_

"_Zack?"_

"_Too tired man." Zack leaned back against the pole and yawned._

"_Billy?"_

"_Not in your lifetime."_

"_Anyone?" He bounced from foot to foot. "Come on."_

"_Okay Jason, let's spar."_

_Jason stopped and slowly turned around, staring at Trini as she took off her shoes and placed them on the side of the mat._

"_Oh come on Trini. Nothing against your skills but you're a..."_

_The Asian girl's eyebrows raised slightly. "A girl?" She got down in her stance and waited for him. "Come on Jase, afraid you're going to lose to a girl?"_

"_No...I don't want to hurt you." _

_He instantly regretted saying that when he felt a strong kick to the chest and then staring up at the ceiling of the youth centre. _

"_Come on Jase, you let your guard down." Trini leaned forward and offered a hand. "Sorry."_

_Jason brushed off the back of his pants and schooled his features into a frown. "Lucky hit Kwan."_

"_Wasn't luck."_

_Zack rolled his eyes and looked towards his other three friends with a smile. "This is going to get interesting."_

"_You said it." Tommy replied with a smile, watching Jason line up again._

_Twenty minutes later, Jason stomped off the mat, his face as red as his shirt and Trini flounced towards them, a grin plastered on her face._

"_Very nice Tri." Kim said with a smile._

"_Hurts being beaten by a girl." _

"_No girl would EVER beat me." Zack retorted, flinching as both Kim and Trini smacked him hard on the shoulder..._

"I LET her win." Jason grumbled.

"Liar!" Tommy roared with a deep laugh. "She kicked your ass fair and square."

"Whatever man." Frowning Jason looked over at Zack. "Zack's in love with Amy and can't get with her." He spat out quickly.

"What?"

"Pardon?"

Tommy and Billy looked at Zack who was glaring daggers at Jason.

"You're in LOVE with her? How long have you actually known Amy?" Billy asked slowly.

"Wait, why can't you get with her? She's smoking." Tommy added confused.

Zack took a long swallow of his beer and glared at his best friend, refusing to say any more.

**OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO**


End file.
